Kevin Clifton: Strictly pro reveals what bosses 'didn't like' about him as he talks exit

KEVIN CLIFTON has opened up about how BBC bosses "didn't like his image" when he first tried to become one of the professional dancers on Strictly Come Dancing in a candid admission following his decision to leave the show.

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Kevin Clifton, 37, has spoken out about his journey on Strictly Come Dancing after deciding to leave the BBC show. The professional dancer, who was part of the series for seven years, explained he received several knock backs when he first auditioned for bosses due to his “image”. Addressing the situation on the most recent episode of his podcast, The Kevin Clifton Show, the star said he was contacting fellow professionals who worked on the programme to try to get a coveted spot.

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He revealed: “Eventually I was put in touch with the right people to have a Skype meeting, but at the time as I’ve said before I was very much in my Burn The Floor rock ’n’ roll goth phase, where my image on the show was, I had long black hair down to my shoulders and black eyeliner and black fingernails.

“I had this Skype meeting and I’m sure they took one look at me and thought, ‘No that’s not what we’re looking for on Strictly Come Dancing.’

“I was sort of saying to them, I guess I was trying to impress them, that ‘Burn The Floor is this kind of a show and I’m on the show at the moment and I think Strictly needs someone to come in who is fresh and young to give it a shake up.’

“I was trying to offer them something different and of course they didn’t need anything different because it was the most successful show on TV.”

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Kevin went on to say he found out from someone on the show that producers appreciated his dance skills but were put off by his gothic appearance.

He added: “So I didn’t get the place in 2012 and I found out through someone working on the show that they’d seen Burn The Floor and didn’t have a problem with my dancing, they were quite happy about that, but they didn’t like my image as a gothic, punk, emo kid.

“They just didn’t think that fit with the show so I auditioned again the next year in 2013 and this time I cleaned up my image a bit.

Kevin Clifton started dating Stacey Dooley after they won Strictly together (Image: INSTAGRAM•STACEYDOOLEY)

Kevin Clifton is now taking on his dream role in Strictly Ballroom (Image: GETTY)

However, the Ballroom and Latin dancer admitted that in spite of his transformation, he failed to be selected to join the show once again, while fellow pros Aljaž Škorjanec and Janette Manrara got the job instead.

Fortunately, Kevin got his opportunity when producers decided to increase the show’s line-up from 14 to 15 celebrity contestants and they needed another professional dancer to step in.

The television personality and performer revealed he was “elated” when he got the call.

Elsewhere, Kevin’s girlfriend Stacey Dooley spoke out about his decision to leave the show two years after the pair lifted the Glitterball trophy together.